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Penance whistled as the other Goldies gathered around. Paladin was angrily shouting, the others were slowly getting out of the rubble, Zane had finally arrived, and Hanso was shouting at him via a link he just set up. Quite a lot to take in, but he could roll with it.

Hanso, don't worry about that, Brynn should be on her way, keep a look out for her. With her being your sister you should have more of a drive NOT to die, right?

He smirked at the Mienshao, though a attack from a certain anxious Salamance just caused the Golduck to sigh. He dug his icy blades into the ground and crossed his arms as Scar got out of the rubble. "Yes... you are more Scar." He said slowly. "You don't think we see what is going on, do you? I must admit, without the other psychics busy trying to figure out this mess I myself would have been lost. But in a way, it does make sense... well, now that one someone thinks about it You know, the gold crystal and how it can negatively affect the silver crystal, especially considering the being himself that is hiding in that crystal. Though you probably don't know how it's happening right? How DID you come from being a respectful Goldy to... well a Silver...ry? Sorry still thinking up a good name to call the Silver Tribe, hehe. Even better, let me ask, how did you even end up under his control? You know I don't refer to Auron here, I think deep down in your memories, you remember who is really in control, you just don't have enough willpower to want to fight back. You are more than happy to let him take control and dance around like a puppet. It does make sense in a way, he can be a puppet master. If it wasn't for what we saw when Deluge was freed, we wouldn't have understood. Yes, Deluge was freed, but he killed him."

Penance paused there, "You know, you can be freed too. You spent more time with the crystal... so it'll be harder." He smirked, "But it can be done. The true you is in there somewhere, being held like Deluge was, and you'll be free soon enough. Thing is... this gold crystal will be more than enough to keep you safe. Scar... this goes one of two ways. You will be freed... or you will be killed. Depends on how much willpower you have. And if I know something." He winked. "I know that you have a urge to be as strong as you can be. Prove that strength Scar, break free."

He uncrossed his arms and pulled out his two ice blades. "Now then, I would say be ready... but that would be against the point."

Leon smirked, "Hehe, this ought to be good."

Penance nodded, "Indeed. Are you ready Scar?" He asked.

"Because we are." A deep voice called out. Around the Mienshao ported in various psychics who all began to shoot out powerful psychic attacks at the Mienshao's mind.

"Zane, get in there!" Penance called out. "We are not losing this one!" He glanced at the fighter, "Don't fight it Scar! Goldies, if you see a black smoke DO NOT let it get close to Scar! Fight it off however you can!"

Accatosh heard what Penance said, it didn't take long for him to realize what Penance was doing, planing to free Scar. Accatosh swallowed his attacks letting the remaining dragon energy escape through his nostrils as smoke.

Accatosh then closed his eyes and controlled his breathing. He focused on the Palkian energies and started to workout his own plan, he had learned from Paladin that if one was physically and mentally strong enough, one could use those energies to not only communicate, but to attack and trap their enemies. the energy it would take would be strenuous but not as much as Accatosh's physical and mental training with both Paladin and at the Academy.

Accatosh formed four tendrils of palkian energy and extended them towards Scar, considering that they were dealing with an elemental of sorts or an energy form of something it would be better to use these energies. the four tendrils were unable to be seen by the standard eye for the moment, only when he triggered the trap would they become visible. very few have the natural ability to see such energies, so Accatosh wasn't that worried. He then as a back up plan, formed an orb of the Palkian energies in front of him, it was visible because of the high concentration of energies, creating the a pink orb that was bright enough to illuminate the area with a pearly pink light. Accatosh opened his eyes, still controlling his breathing and focused on the tendrils and the orb in front of him, waiting for the time to strike.

Hanso, don't worry about that, Brynn should be on her way, keep a look out for her. With her being your sister you should have more of a drive NOT to die, right?

What. Dang right, Hanso thought to himself. "We'll need to talk sometime," he replied calmly, though in a neutral tone, before partially closing his side of the channel.

"I am positive that is the intruder from earlier. He can fly, but is clearly a Ground Pokemon. is he one of yours?"

The Gallade nodded. "Yes, Paladin of the Gold Tribe." How easy it was, at the moment, to continue acting like he was still of the Gold Tribe himself. How long, though, before Hanso decided which way he'd turn? He added, "And keep an eye out for a Gardevoir. Not Genevieve, one who likely won't be standing. Same height as me, mirror eyes. Chances are, she'll teleport in anyway, once she locates us." At the same time, Hanso was feeling more like the Blaziken could be a confidant.

"Hello, brother. Trouble, as usual?"

"Ya think? This'll be tougher than usual." As they spoke, Hanso set up a telepathic network to connect himself, Brynn, and Vera, then relayed images of his surroundings to his sister. "Tyranitar, with Dragon Blood and two alter-egos of sorts. One is some sort of prisoner who's had ten years inside Sovereign, and the other brings out his Outrage monster. You're hearing this, Vera, right?" The Gallade could feel Brynn already updating the network and its defenses to her higher standards.

Vera Fayos"Loud and clear. There's a bit more to Sovereign than that though. I've been... keeping something from you. Varren... messed with Sovereign's memories. At least he claimed he was going to. He won't remember me." Vera was unnerved by this thought. Was it really so easy to forget your only friend? "The problem is, how do we bring out the monster?" Vera looked once again at the Furret on the ground. "He's being influenced by something. He's bloodthirsty right now. But he could have killed that Furret at any time. Instead he chose to wait for a fighter. He still remembers who he is, he is still in there. Maybe we can use that, try to make him remember me. The confusion in the midst of battle may be enough to bring it out." But what about Paladin? "How confident are you that Paladin can handle Sovereign?"

As the turbulent flames descended, even a fire-type like Daricka could almost feel the heat rolling off of the Blast Burn, and she could only imagine what it would feel like if she was hit. Instinct told her to flee for her life, but loyalty told her to stay and help her comrades. In the split second she had to decide, loyalty won the small conflict and the Infernape made a mad dash toward Hoodhide. It was time to show how Wildfire had gained her title.

As her feet pounded against the ground, the dark flames that flickered atop her head started to spread and wreathed about her body. Her already rapid pace rapidly increased as power surged through her as her Life Fire overflowed her reserves and her glowing oceanic blue eyes were the only visible part of her as the black flames completely encased her body. In the time it took to blink, she seemed to appear by Hoodhide's side, then she was lifting him up and over the impending danger of the Blast Burn as she jumped clear of the flames. She hesitated for a fraction of a moment to regain her footing, then she was off again with the Scrafty gripped in the iron grasp of her right arm. Her path leading her straight to Guardia as she bounded over the debris of buildings that were in her path. The moment the Zangoose was in the grip of her free hand and slung over a shoulder, Daricka did a 180 and ran back the way she had come until they were out of reach of the Blast Burn.

"Sorry for the rough ride," Daricka said as she set Hoodhide and Guardia down. "I was in a bit of a hurry." She didn't wait to see if they would say anything back before whirling around and running back toward The Inferno; she didn't want use these flames any longer than she had to, and the clock was ticking. Even as she was now, there wasn't any guarantee that she would be able to overpower The Inferno - or what The Inferno had now become. Still, not everything was about power.

Daricka's own envelope of black flames was barely visible against the backdrop of The Inferno's corrupted flames, and only the occasional faint flicker of midnight blue would give her away as she took a moment to slow her pace enough for her to briefly close her eyes and concentrate on a Calm Mind to regain the defenses she would need to fight against the behemoth before her. When she reopened her eyes, their shining bright blue would give no doubt to any close observer that she was not a part of the burning backdrop.

A swirling ball of energy rapidly started forming in her right hand, the flames wreathing her body flowing into and around the Focus Blast and adding their strength to it. There was no telling how powerful this dark creature was, but Daricka was confident that this attack would not be so easily blown away by another Flamethrower. And besides that, The Inferno should still be recovering from the last Blast Burn; if she was right, he wouldn't be at full power quite yet. Still, she had no way of judging his current recovery rate. For all she knew, he was already preparing another attack.

Doubt fled from her mind as the opportunity for retreat faded; the flame encased Focus Blast had reached a size a fair size larger than it would normally be, and she was within range to fire it. Barely dropping her pace, Daricka spun on her toes, using the moment from the spin to fling the Focus Blast at a blistering speed toward The Inferno. Digging her left foot into the ground, she pushed off to run around him to the right, Smaller, palm-sized versions of the Focus Blast already forming in both of her hands. She gripped both orbs of swirling energy in either of her hands then, like lightning, dashed in to strike at The Inferno with Close Combat, the miniature Focus Blasts adding extra power to her already devastating punches. As she weaved about him, constantly switching from one side to another in the event that he should throw an attack at her she would have a larger chance of escaping, she kept her tail behind her and out of his view.

The reason for this was revealed soon enough as her elongated tail suddenly whipped out from behind her back, wrapped around a pulsing orb of blue energy and dark flames. Like lightning, it flicked out to hold the Focus Blast at an angle opposite to that which Daricka was currently attacking from, and the fifth limb unraveled to fling the Focus Blast at the Inferno at a range that would be near impossible to counter.

Levina stopped a ways from the opening to make sure that they weren’t seen by those on the surface. “I agree with you on having a plan but my expertise is in blink-of-an-eye assassinations. Not sneaking around. So what would be the plan? I could use my speed to take a quick look around see what is going on up there. Or you could go up there and then while they are focused on you I can come from behind them and kill them. Otherwise, Snype old buddy, we might have to split up for a bit.” Levina bent down to scratch her ear and then looked back at him. She knew they had a better chance of surviving if they stuck together but it would be hard because of their varying skills and abilities.

Allora ~ Cape City

Allora watched as many different Psychic Pokemon appeared and surrounded Scar. She wasn’t sure what they were doing exactly but she could tell that they were assaulting his mind. Accatosh was close by and seemed to be in a deep trance. ‘Was he helping the others? But Salamence don’t have any psychic abilities…’ Were the thoughts that rang out in Allora’s mind. She wanted to ask him what he was doing but didn’t want to break the trance he held.

After watching the event unfold, and knowing that Scar was pretty much detained, Allora took a moment to sit and catch her breath. The sounds of battle continued to sound out across the city. Involved in one of those battles was Paladin; wherever he ran off to. Allora closed her eyes and focused her psychic abilities on the city. One by one she slowly started to pin-point the locations of the battles and who was involved in them. Eventually she found Paladin and the monster of a Pokemon he was up against. “I hope you’re alright. Be safe.” Allora implanted these words in his mind.

The Inferno had no chance to dodge the attacked that the Infernape was launching towards him. He brought up a wall of his dark, corrupted flames in the chance it would lessen the impact, but the bulk of the attack broke through either way, and pounded at his body from the front. When she got in closer for a Close Combat, the attacks too hit their mark, the body of the Inferno noticeably making a crunching sound as a few bones broke in certain areas. As Wildfire ended with a finale of her moves, by now Inferno had already dropped his arms and ended trying to block or dodge, as the Typhlosion realized no good would come of it, it seemed. They impacted him on all sides, causing immense damaged, which the Sentinel took, fresh scars, scrapes, burns and bruises forming all across his body. He bled from open wounds, and the charred black skin was present across his body.

But his eyes, the dark eyes that formed from the chaos form was still present. And the mighty Sentinel, after all the punishment his body was put under, was still standing. Guardia gasped as the smoke cleared to see the sight. The amount of damage he was put under would have easily killed a hundred Typhlosions. In fact, if he didn't have his eyes open, and was standing now, she would have assumed that he too was dead now. For half a minute, the Inferno merely stood there in silence, not moving a muscle. Guardia moved in a bit closer, trying to see what he was up to. The closer she got, the more she was beginning to think that he was already dead, or at least unconscious. A moment later, as his body was suddenly but slowly beginning to move again, his very movements appeared to be forced, as if he himself wasn't doing it any longer. Perhaps, Guardia thought to herself, he was already dead on the inside, and whatever this hold on his was clinging to the last bits of his life force to use it all up.

It seemed to be just that, but his following attack gave no indication that he had lost any of that immense power. Raising his bloody and burnt hands, the Inferno targeted the three Gold Tribe members before him: Wildfire, Hoodhide and Guardia. He opened his mouth, black smoke escaping from it before it turned to the dark fire that he now commanded. The same eruption of flames came out of his arms and back. They engulfed his body, and then expanded around him, forming an expanding ball of dark ember. The fire multiplied in size by the second, but continued to cling around the Typhlosion's body in a perfect circle, only increasing in size. There was moments where the flames pushed forward, claiming the debris of any surrounding objects or buildings, and forcing them to the flames. They were sucking them in, and the Typhlosion deliberately held them there. But Guardia knew that such an concentrated amount of energy could never be held for very long. She had an idea of what he was about to do.

“Oh no...” She said aloud to the other two. “He's...he's going to cause and explosion in the entire area! He's going to destroy Cape City!”

***

Scar picked up only in the last minute how Blitzkrieg cut himself off in the last second to launch a pair of blasts at him. Scar put his weight on his legs and leaped with all of his might out of the way, spinning into a roll as he avoiding the two attacks as they came for him. He looked back, the blasts burning through the buildings and leaving two large holes. He grinned, knowing if the attack had hit him, they would have been potent. Bits of rubble from his previous encounter with the crashed building had made their way across his shoulder, so he be began to wipe them out as the Golduck began to speak to him. Scar brushed himself off while he listened, raising an eyebrow while he listened to him.

"Gold crystal? Silver Crystal? Being? What in blazes are you talking about?" He asked him, as he finished brushing himself off, formed another stance to prepare an attack from him. Having no knowledge of what they spoke of, Scar dismissed it as some sort of distraction, though he couldn't quite grasp what it was meant for. That is, until the team of psychics approached and began their combined assault on his mind. At the moment they had begun their assault, Zane ran forward as well at Penance's call, and positioned himself close by. "What are yo-" Scar questioned, before the Pokemon around unloaded at him, bombarding his mental shields and collapsing them as they made their way inside of his mind. Scar struggled, falling to one knee as he tried to repel his attackers, to no use.

The familiar scene shifted, and for those who had been apart of the psychic infiltration team in his mind found themselves in the similar scene of the white blank room, with themselves on one side, and with Scar on the other. The being shrouded in darkness, like with Deluge, closely embraced the Mienshao inside of his mind, his grasp not willing to be easily loosened. Then once more, as before, the light of golden energy penetrated the white room, and the darkness loosed his grip, bringing one arm away from the Mienshao as the purification began. On the outside, Scar's eyes blackened for mere moments, and then began violently changing between those and normal ones. He struggled to repel the Psychic forces inside of him. But another, deeper side of him also struggled to remove the darkness that crept further inside of him. He couldn't explain it anymore. He didn't understand what he was supposed to be fighting. That which felt like the enemy now seemed to be doing more good than harm, and that which he clung to, the thoughts he had for years now, seemed like a nightmare put inside of him. He screamed. The Psychics continued.

As if on cue, the darkness which came as smoke began to approach in a rapid motion over the skies of Cape City. Zane noticed it, and called out to the others. "Here it comes!" He yelled, but the smoke came much too fast, and he wasn't sure if the others would get a chance to react. It's target set, the dark smoke fluttered towards the Mienshao in hopes of going inside of it. At the last moment, Zane threw his body in the way, and the smoke infiltrated inside of him. He fell from his jump on the ground, but quickly popped up and placed his arms on his head. His vision blurred, and his head felt like it was being split open. It was lurking, moving inside of him. He wasn't sure what it was, but it stung deeper and deeper. He could almost feel it physically moving in his brain. Then, everything went dark. His body on the outside collapsed, but his mind continued to wander, deeper and deeper. He suddenly found himself viewing a variety of scenes. Pokemon fighting, talking, laughing, crying. He recognized some, as some were his memories. Others he didn't remember seeing, but recognizing some inside. Then there were others, scenes he had never seen before, nor did he know who they were. Memories fluttered by his vision by the hundreds, if not thousands. Then suddenly they all stopped, and it was all brought to one memory.

Green plains, as far as the eye could see in one direction. Mountains providing fresh, cool air in the other. In the far back, the outline of a city was seen. A group young Pokemon were overseen by two older ones, while they fought with a larger one. He remembered this scene. It was he as a young Gold Tribe trainee. Guardia was with him then too. The exercise was the small group of trainees against a full-fledged veteran Gold Tribe member. The point of the exercise was to teach them about teamwork. But their opponent also turned out to be their teacher, Gallant, who was a Pokemon who gave no nonsense or breaks. Zane watched as the young Pokemon were thrown back, unable to do anything against the veteran Sawk.

"Come on, you maggots! Show me what you're made of!" He yelled at them. The younger Zane and the others once again charged, and once again were tossed back.

"Alright," the other Gold Tribe member said as he stepped forward, who was none other than the leader himself, Adam "Rey" Reed. He had taken the day off of his schedule to examine his daughter's progress in her training. Zane remembered how Guardia was so happy that he was coming to watch her. She wanted to impress him with his strength. Rey held up a hand to stop them from continuing. He looked across the group of young potential, and spoke up again. "Can anyone tell me how he beat you?"

"Hmm," Rey said, examining his daughter. "That is true. Perhaps individually, you aren't. But then again, the point of this exercise wasn't to beat the opponent to begin with. This was a team-building exercise, the first of many you will be apart of." Rey walked back and forth, examining each face as he walked passed them. "But the main reason that you did not win was belief."

"I believe!" Guardia quickly yelled, smiling. I know what I fight for, and I believe in it! I believe in myself too!"

"Belief doesn't come just in one form. You're not supposed to believe just in what you fight for, but also who you fight with." Guardia's smile dropped, and she tilted her head. The young Zane of the vision watched the leader and listened, as did the other young Pokemon. "Confidence is nice, but against a strong opponent, confidence can also be arrogance. Do not let pride guide you. But more importantly, never discredit those who stand beside you, no matter what. Any opponent can be defeated, any obstacle can be overcome, if those who fight against it fight as one, think as one, believe as one.

"That, is what is meant to be in the Gold Tribe. We are not elite warriors showing off our strength. We are a team, the greatest team because we all fight on the same page, and we trust and believe in each other. We are family. And that is a bond you should never break, no matter the circumstances."

Zane's vision blurred again, and the memory collapsed around him. He began blinking, and once again he was in Cape City. He watched as the dark smoke which penetrated his body had already began to dissapear out of his body, as if there was a negative effect of being inside of him. It traveled through the air in pieces, but didn't go far, as it slowly disintegrated into the atmosphere, leaving no traces behind. Meanwhile Scar was still struggling now with the psychics. But then, at once, he stopped screaming, and his body dropped to the ground.

Inside of his mind, the white room collapsed as the dark being that engulfed his body was finally destroyed by the combined efforts of the infiltration team and the gold light. No trace remained, as if it had all been purified.

The Nightmare is over for him. A voice said from inside of Zane's head, which felt as though someone had poked around up there. He grasped his head in pain, and observed the unconscious body of the Mienshao, the Sentinel. It appeared, hopefully, that he had been freed. Zane dropped onto the ground on his behind, catching his breath. They may have just won a great victory in the battle, but the war still commenced.

Penance gritted his teeth as he saw the psychics doing all they could against the Mienshao, for now he was waiting to see that black cloud coming. Once it came at them, then, he would go and attack it with all his might, he hoped that the Goldies would do that same, but that was besides the point. They would have to pull all the stops to ensure the Mienshao survived. It was all a plan that was coming together one part at a time.

The plan however, seemed to fall to pieces right as a black cloud sped down to Cape City. "Get ready! Do not let it reach him!" He shouted as he threw a Water Pulse at it. The cloud just easily dodged it and it was coming in fast! So fast that Penance already knew they were going to lose Scar. But it did at least bring down another Sentinel. They wouldn't have to waste time battling, but instead focusing on the other Sentinels now.

What did strike him as odd though was Zane. It seemed the goldy also had a plan in motion, albeit a stupid one as he jumped right in front of the smoke and fell down seemingly in pain. "Get on Zane! Get ready and if he makes any moves take him down!" Shouted Penance.

Leon was already in position and quickly moved toward the Bisharp. "Yeah, I know, he moves he gets his throat slit!" The dark type said with a smirk.

Penance glanced back and forth between the goldy and the sentinel. Finally there was a break as the psychics cried out and reeled back and the Mienshao fell to the ground. Zane gasped as the smoke exited his body and Penance had to smirk. "Good, psychics secure the Mienshao, double check his mental state and apply healing where need be, Leon get the gold crystal and get it to him."

The Weavile pulled off the crystal from the Bisharp's neck and proceeded to place it around Scar's. "There we go! Good as new!" He snickered.

Penance made his way over to Zane. "Hm.. stupid, very stupid, but clever too. Psychics, get him out of here, follow procedure 8."

The psychcis were too tired to port away, and instead supported the Mienshao and began to walk him out of the area.

"Now... to find the others and get more out of the way." He muttered. "Goldies, you best go with the psychics, keep the Mienshao safe at all costs! No exceptions, the information he has is paramount to this war! Zane, get up, I know you can. You're with me. Reports are in, that Typhlosion is generating a lot of power, we have to stop him. This one will have to die."

"Paladin wouldn't deserve Gold Tribe status if he couldn't stay alive for more than a few seconds," Hanso replied. "From what I have heard of him, Paladin will be fine. At the same time, I haven't seen him fight Sovereign before, and I should know when I say he won't get away unscathed by fighting alone."

While he was replying, a Gardevoir appeared a few feet away from Hanso and Vera. "Who is she?" Brynn asked curiously as she indicated the Blaziken, trying to hide the fact that her legs were shuddering.

Hanso caught his twin-sister before she fell and helped her sit against a wall. "A new acquaintance. Vera, meet Brynn. Brynn, meet Vera. Background checks later. We could keep Sovereign occupied longer if there was someone else to help Paladin. I don't know how long this'll take, and waiting isn't gonna help us."

Accatosh waited for the smoke, came entered into Accatosh's trap and just as it sprung Vigil threw his body into the smoke and was struggling on the floor. Accatosha attempted to use his tendrils to pull the smoke out of Vigil, he grabbed it a little just as the dark energy dispersed.

Accatosh sighed and released his control on the tendrils which had become visible while grabbing the darkness. Then the tendrils and the orb dispersed as the energy separated itself.

Accatosh walked over to Vigil, and offered his tail to help Vigil up, "That was foolish Vigil, but heroic none the less... but don't do that again, right now is a bad time for solo heroics."

Snype didn't feel too safe splitting up. The two could work well together with a plan if they took advantage of their strengths. "Assassination is exactly what I was thinking of. Kehehe... get the big leaders, and watch the Gold Tribe crumble... A good hit from Toxic is bound to cripple their forces at the very least. We just have to finish the job before they can heal it off. Kehe... All we have to do is scout out the area and plan the order and see who needs the most help. Then we pick the big commanders out one by one." Snype explained.

They were underground for a long time so for all they know, the battle could be close to ending. Still, Snype had to try an turn the tables somehow by whatever means neccesary.

"Holy Arceus!" Hoodhide screamed as he was suddenly picked up from off the roof. For a brief moment, he felt horror, hoping that it was not the fiery Sentinel who had grabbed him. To his relief, he found his good friend Daricka had saved him from the Inferno's vicious attack. In a surprisingly swift motion, the Infernape grabbed Guardia, saving her from the Blast Burn as well. Almost as quickly and abruptly as she had picked them up, she deposited them back on the ground. "Whoa! Thanks, sis!" Hoodhide huffed, looking ahead at the horrifying monster before him. This was no longer Inferno... heck, this was no longer a Pokemon for that matter. His dark, soulless eyes and his pitch black flames showed that there was something very different about him. The Silver Crystal had taken over. As quick as a flash, Wildfire shot at the Inferno, battering him with attack after attack. Her combinations of Focus Blast and her flames did a great deal of damage on the vile creature, who was unable to dodge any of the attacks.

Suspense. Nothing but smoke after Daricka had returned to Hoodhide's side. They waited for it to clear, expecting to see the dead body of their enemy. Instead, they saw their weakened foe with cuts, bruises, and burns of the third degree all over his body, but still standing. The least Hoodhide could hope for was that his power had diminished, but alas, this was not so. The Inferno suddenly began generating what appeared to be a huge circle of black flames all around him. The circle just grew and grew, with him at the center, consuming anything in its path. Hoodhide could feel its luminescence; despite the darkness of it all, he could feel its heat like he could feel the scorching sun's heat. Guardia clearly pointed out what all three of them feared. The growing circle would eventually become so powerful that it would blow up the entire city, and anything within 100 square miles of it. He knew that for sure, considering the Inferno's awesome power.

Thinking as quick as he could, Hoodhide tried to come up with a solution. There seemed to be no way to stop the growing circle, which had already set all surrounding buildings ablaze, causing the battlefield to be encased in a ring of fire. Wait a minute, Hoodhide though, if that power is enough to blow up an entire city, it could definitely kill this bastard once and for all... which means... He knew what to do.

"Daricka, Guardia..." he began, turning to his sisters. "You're more important than me. I...have done my duty," he had trouble pronouncing his next few words, for tears welled up in his eyes. "When I go in...start running. Run as fast as you can, as far as you can from here. You're too valuable. Continue the fight. Honor me." And with that, he was gone.

As Hoodhide ran towards the flaming circle of darkness, things changed to slow motion. Oh, how he hated things to be slow! But in this case, it was a good thing. He was in no hurry to get burned to a cinder. However, it had to be done. Everything Lucian stood for depended on this one action, and by Arceus, he was going to succeed.

Hoodhide touched the flames. Darkness enveloped him and burned his skin. He screamed as he advanced into the flames persistently. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He cried in anguish, but continued on. His legs pushed him through the fiery blaze, and his arms shielded his face from the fire, but it was no use. The flames did not light him, instead they whipped past his body like a flaming wind, burning him horribly as he advanced towards the Inferno. His screams began to become weaker as he neared the Typhlosion, his body black and scorched. "UUUUAAAAAGH!" Came his painful shriek.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of fire and pain, he stood before the Inferno. The monster simply looked down at the little Scrafty as he generated more flames. Despite his terrible pain, the now blackened Scrafty began to climb the horrible monster's body. The Typhlosion's fur was on fire, and his mouth was wide open, generating more and more flames as the circle grew in size. "AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGH!" Hoodhide wailed as his skin was set alight by the Inferno's fur. The pain is worth it, the pain is worth it, he repeated in his head, as he climbed on top of the beast's head.

Once there, he gazed down at the beast's gaping mouth. His body was now black as his skin was scorched with third degree burns, his eyes were the only thing that were almost unscathed, allowing him to see past the burning winds of fire. The Inferno's body began to rumble as he got ready to detonate his now huge circle of dark flames. Reaching out with all his strength, Hoodhide grabbed the Inferno's big mouth from both ends, and began to push the two ends shut. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEERGH!" Came Hoodhide's scream as the inside of his own mouth was scorched by the winds. The pain was unbearable, but not for someone like him. Not for someone of the Gold Tribe.

Finally, the shaking Inferno's jaws began to move. The two ends of his mouth came closer and closer together as Hoodhide's efforts finally paid off. The young Scrafty grunted as the evil Typhlosion's mouth was finally wedged shut.

Inferno began rumbling. In fact, being on top of him, it felt like an earthquake. His soulless, black eyes had a glint of sadness to him as his whole circle of fire came back down upon both of the Pokemon. All of the powerful, raw flames that had spread from the Inferno returned to him, collapsing back onto their maker. The flames had no route of entrance, because the only one, the Typhlosion's gaping maw, was wedged shut by Hoodhide. The last thing the little Scrafty felt in his life was all that power, all that energy collapsing onto both him and the Typhlosion, before everything faded to black.

The resulting implosion was big, but not as large as it could have been. A loud, resonating boom could be heard as Inferno and Hoodhide were crushed by the sheer intensity of the flames, which then spread outwards as they collapsed, incinerating anything in their path. Any Pokemon that was anywhere close to the battlefield would be incinerated if they were anywhere near the ground. Flames poured out from where the two had been standing, burning through buildings and Pokemon alike as the ground was scorched so hot it became black. The implosion lasted for a good minute before the flames finally ceased erupting.

And that was the end of Allen "The Inferno" Fury.

The aftermath was devastating. The ground that the fire had touched was scorched pitch black, the ash of Pokemon and buildings alike lay all across. There was now a great patch of black darkness on the face of Cape City, on which nothing lived.

"Hm.. stupid, very stupid, but clever too. Psychics, get him out of here, follow procedure 8." Penance said to Zane, who still clung to the ground after the episode he had with the darkness. His breathing had slowly steadied once more after being harsh and heavy. He observed the Psychics now, as they carried Scar away, wondering what they would do to him, or at least where they would take him. He wondered about Scar at that moment, if he truly was free. He wondered if the next time he would open his eyes, everything would appear to be normal for him, or if it felt like an intense burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Maybe, he wouldn't remember anything at all, as if the entire debacle would have been one bad dream. He wouldn't find out Scar's fate until he was awoken, so for now, he had to concentrate back on his duty.

Blitzkrieg offered Zane his tail to help him up, which Zane gladly accepted, grabbing hold of it and pulling himself to his feet. "That was foolish Vigil, but heroic none the less... but don't do that again, right now is a bad time for solo heroics."

Zane smiled as he replied. "Heh...I was just doing what had to be done. But I'll take your advice next time around."

Penance then began speaking, outlining their next target, and in a sudden realization of what he had been doing prior, Zane remembered that the Inferno was still loose, and from last he checked, ever increasing in power. Without a moments hesitation, he departed, heading back to the original location where he felt the heat emissions emerge from. Zane thought as he ran, wondering if those who fought again the explosive Sentinel were alright. He assumed it was probably a few members of the Gold Tribe, though he wasn't sure which ones they were exactly. All he knew was that it was more than likely that at least one fought. He only hoped they were doing alright. But the following explosion of energy suggested otherwise. He would feel the shockwave to his very bones, and new right away something was amiss. The energy that was released, the fire that was around, both seemed so unnatural. He hadn't felt that level of corrupted energy since...Ignitus in Albia. Zane was fairly certain at that point that the Inferno had gone into the chaos form.

"Damn it," Zane cursed, as he bashed through a pair of Ancients who were in his way, knocking them down to allow a few Alpha Alliance soldiers to jump them and finish the job. Everywhere, the two sides still clashed, with Zane unable to determine which one had the advantage. He doubted himself at that moment, wondering if he had made the wrong call on going to help with Scar, especially when he was much closer to the Inferno. He had left behind others to fight when he might have been of better assistance elsewhere.

But when Zane finally reached the location, he found nothing. No bodies, no witnesses, at least none see saw at that precise moment. All there was, was burned buildings, charred streets, and broken homes. The charred remains of an intense fight was all that remained, and seemingly no one around to filled them in on what happened. That is, until Zane spotted movement in a far pile of rubble. He quickly sprinted over, noting how far away the rubble was towards the centerpoint of the explosion of energy, yet it still was able to cause a significant amount of damage. As he got closer, he recognized the Pokemon as his friend.

"Guardia!" Zane called out, with only minimal reply in terms of movement. He reached the rubble, frantically pulling off pieces of broken buildings and wood. There Guardia lay, injuried fairly seriously, but still alive. She had a few burns here and there, her signs of survival against the Sentinel. "Are you alright? What happened?" Zane asked her, as he pulled her up and helped her onto her feet. Guardia shook a bit at first, having trouble keeping her balance, but managed to eventually remain standing. She recalled what had previously happened.

"The Inferno...he was here, and Prince of Light..." She trailed off in her voice, recalled how the Zoroark Gold Tribe member fell trying to get them a shot at the Inferno. "Then...Hoodhide..." Her voice trailed off once more, this time recalling the last words of Hoodhide.

"You're too valuable. Continue the fight. Honor me."

"Hoodhide..." She whispered again, barely loud enough for Zane to hear, but she didn't need to say anymore before he understood. Zane lowered his head, and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. It was just as he feared. He had left, gone away to do what had to be done with the Gold Crystal and Scar, and the price was two more of his brothers. He knew at this moment that he should have been here. He should have tried to help them fight off the Inferno. His place should have been by there side. It always should have been. The Gold Tribe were supposed to be a family, a team. Pokemon who always had each others backs, no matter what, and once again, he felt that he failed them.

"All because of this..." Zane said to himself aloud, looking down at the Gold crystal around his neck. "No...it goes beyond that. Where did we go wrong...?"

An explosion sounded off close by. Zane took his gaze off of the crystal, and back onto the battlefield. There would be more time to discuss of what had happened later. For now, he had to bury the pain, and fight on. Cape City still needed to be liberated. Not only for the Alpha Alliance, but for the Gold Tribe. For the Prince of Light, and for Hoodhide.

Chaos was all around as Sovereign waited, with his hands gripped around the poor Pokemon's neck. His fingers twitched at the thought of spilling blood. His fingers tightened around it's neck just before he heard exactly what he had been waiting for.

"SOVEREEEEEIGN!" He turned to see a large Golurk barreling towards him. he had no time to think, but it didn't matter, he only needed the rush of battle. As the Golurk crashed into him, he released his grip, and the Furret fell to the ground. He slid back a few feet.

"Don't remember me? Don't remember me?!" Paladin screamed, more furious than he'd been all day. The combined anger of everything that had happened to him today had finally gotten to him. "By the time I'm done with you, monster, you'll wish you had remembered me, so you could have cowered in fear!"

Paladin attacked. He had reverted back to his regular forme, and stood only a few feet away from the smaller Tyranitar. His first attack consisted of a Stone Edge; sending various stones towards the Sentinel, he attempted to distract him with them while he swung his arms around in a circle, preparing a Hammer Arm, then struck with the momentum of the swing and the power of the Hammer Arm attack, straight at Sovereign.

Paladin, throughout his various travels, had heard the name Sovereign several times. He was, for a time, the newest Sentinels until a few others joined whose names he could not remember. Still, only now, upon seeing the bloodstained Tyranitar, had he realized that it was the exact same one...

It was just a routine mission. Some local Pokemon had reported disturbances up in the mountain; Paladin, Gabe, Niko, and Juri had been sent to check it out. As they climbed the rigorous mountain to get to the source of the disturbance, they could never have guessed what they would find.

Sovereign stared at his bloodied hands. The blood of both his parents now mixed together, a fusion of the same being that had come together to create him. the remains of his mother were all around. "Why?" Sovereign cried desperately! "Why did we have to fight?! I knew I wasn't ready! You had to know I coundn't control it!"

"Hehehe. You needn't worry, Sovereign. Both your parents abandoned you anyway. Let me be your guide. I won't abandon you. I will help you become something they could never be..."

Sovereign turned to look at the newcomers. "This is my territory you know?" he said with a crooked smile and a red tinge to his eyes. "Or at least it was..."

"What in the world is this...?" Gabe Kellan muttered, as he peered over the cliff face. He was quickly followed by Niko, then Juri, then Paladin, who all looked down at the bloodstained monster that they saw below. "It's...a Tyranitar. What is it doing?" Juri asked, confused. Gabe shrugged as the strange Tyranitar turned to face them. Paladin gazed at the creature, disturbed by the words he had spoken. Something was off here... "This must be the source of the disturbance," Niko stated. "Yeah, let's check it out..." Paladin muttered, still staring into the hateful eyes of the creature below, as the four Pokemon began making their way down to meet the monster.

Sovereign blinked. His eyes now a normal white and black. "No no no! It wasn't supposed to end like that! How could he leave me!?" As he blinked once more his eyes were once again that red hue."Everyone leaves you in the end. Don't you know? You're worth nothing to them. But I can't leave you. I won't leave you..." The Tyranitar grabbed his head. "NOOOOOOO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" he screamed as the earth began to shake. The sky turned a deep black. Dark energy whipped around him like lightning and his skin began to shift to an ominous blue. When his eyes finally opened again, they had become a bright yellow. He stared directly at the intruders as he let out a strange distorted roar! "UUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Paladin gripped a nearby tree for balance as things began to shake. "An Earthquake? That guy's gonna bring the whole mountain down with something of this magnitude!" Niko shouted, trying and failing to keep his four paws firmly on the ground. Gabe also had trouble keeping his footing, but Juri, being a Claydol, was unaffected by the devastating Earthquake. Suddenly, a loud, odd cry came from the direction of the Tyranitar. Paladin was the only one to look back, and realized that the Tyranitar had changed appearance greatly. He looked much darker, and his bright yellow eyes seemed to pierce into the Golurk's soul. "Come on!" Gabe shouted, before proceeding further down to meet the Tyranitar, shaking in his step. Juri followed, as did Niko, but Paladin stood there for a moment longer...staring into the creature's eyes. Finally, they reached the level of the dark beast. All on their guards, Gabe looked intently back at the Tyranitar. The Luxray was easily able to see through objects, but rumors had spread around the Gold Tribe that he was so experienced, he was able to see through Pokemon into their souls. It looked very much like he was doing that now, and it also looked as if he didn't particularly like what he saw. "Tyranitar, why do you cause such disturbances?!" Gabe shouted, trying to be heard among the great rumbling of the earth.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" the beast cried as he charged the Luxray. He grabbed it by the head and swung it's body over like a lever, forcing it into the ground with incredible force! "UUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" The beast roared once more as he slammed his foot into the Luxray's overturned belly.

As soon as that happened, Paladin, Juri, and Niko sprung into action. Paladin quickly launched a Hammer Arm at the Tyranitar to drive him off a step, then used the little time given to lift his former master from the ground and fly up into the sky. "Oh my Arceus! Master!" Paladin panicked as he set down far away from the battlefield and deposited his master in a cluster of bushes. The poor Luxray had been surprised by the attack and was covered in bruises and cuts, bleeding all over. "Help...the others..." he mumbled. Paladin nodded and flew back up into the sky, leaving his poor master alone.

Juri and Niko fought bravely, but to no avail. When Paladin returned to the scene, he found Niko dead on the ground in a pool of blood, and Juri struggling to survive against this monstrosity. Paladin landed with a crash, hatred boiling in his eyes. "Monster!" he screamed at the beast. "Over here!"

Sovereign held the Claydol in the air, his fingers piercing the outside of his body. He turned to look at Paladin as a hundred black tendrils suddenly emerged from the Claydol's body. They slithered all around as the blood began to drip from every little hole. Then all at once, they retracted into the Claydol, and it fell to the ground.

As Paladin rushed the monster he swung his tail throwing the Golurk into a boulder. The monster began to walk slowly towards Paladin, the growling pant in his breath a most fearful sound. Paladin grunted as he heaved himself up, about to attempt another charge at the monstrous Sovereign. However, behind the Tyranitar, another voice came. "Paladin!" Juri shouted weakly. "Run!" Paladin could tell what was about to happen. The holes that riddled the Claydol's body began generating a bright white light, as his entire body began shuddering. In one last attack, Paladin changed to his flying mode and charged at Sovereign surprisingly fast, knocking him down to the ground with the final impact. Without looking back, he hurried away full speed towards the nearby forest area where he had left Gabe. He swooped the Luxray up swiftly in mid-flight, surprising the hell out of him. "Wha..." He mumbled quietly, looking weak. Then, the loud boom. The sound was huge, and could be heard miles away as Juri of the Gold Tribe used Explosion, decimating anything around him. Paladin was knocked off-course by the resulting shock wave, and was sent spiraling downwards, Gabe in hand. He crashed onto the ground, holding the Luxray up so as not to crush him. "Master..." Paladin set his master on the ground and checked his pulse with an overgrown finger.

Gabe Kellan was dead.

After Paladin returned the body to the Gold Tribe, a funeral service was held, and not long after, a vengeful Paladin and a large team of Gold Tribesmen returned to the razed scene where the battle had taken place. They found no one. Everyone assumed that Sovereign had either fled the scene on time, or been killed in the explosion, the latter being more likely. Still, Paladin swore on Arceus that if he ever saw the evil monster that had killed his master again, he would crush his very soul...

Sovereign took a barrage of attacks, which ended with a heavy Hammer Arm. Something about the attack felt familiar, but Sovereign couldn't place why? "Why can't I remember you? Why can't I remember anything !?" As the pain of uncertainty struck Sovereign, his hands emitted a dark energy mixed with the strength of the attacks Paladin had just hit him with. Sovereign unleashed his Payback, the power of which seemed to be stronger than it had been in the past. Sand began to pour from every crack on his body, and picked up in the whipping wind! Sovereign's Sandstom was full force by the time it happened. An explosion of Black Flame, somehow visible even through the thick cloud. Sovereign could feel it, in his very soul. A power so black that not even the night could compare. He could feel his blood lust growing stronger from it, but he would not give in to it.

The attacks looked like they were damaging Sovereign, but just when he thought he had him, the Tyranitar came back at him with a Payback attack. The attack had the power of all the attacks Paladin had just landed, and sent the Golurk flying four feet backwards. "Argh!" He grunted from the pain as he stood up once more. Then, he felt a soothing barrage of tiny rocks against his skin. He looked around to see that Sovereign had launched a Sandstorm. How refreshing! Paladin loved a good sandstorm. Both he and the Tyranitar were naturally unaffected by it, though the hard wind chipped away at the skin of any nearby Pokemon who did not share a type with the two giants. "You fool!" Paladin shouted, "I love sandstorms!" He almost chuckled, but decided his rage was too great for that now. He walked towards Sovereign again, beginning with a quick Shadow Punch to distract him, then kneeing him in the stomach and attacking with a full-on Hammer Arm. It hurt to move because of that powerful Payback, but Paladin ignored the aching and continued attacking. His rage had gotten the better of him, he just kept going with his onslaught of Hammer Arms and occasional Shadow Punches to draw his opponent's attention.

The continued assault from the Golurk was taxing. Sovereign needed an edge, and the Sandstorm gave him exactly that! "You may be of the earth, but this storm still gives me the advantage!" Suddenly, the sand began to strike with greater force as Sovereign invoked a Stone edge using his Sandstorm as the catalyst. He took his chance and moved in to Crunch his opponent, his bared teeth vicious and sharp!

The intensified Sandstorm came as a surprise to Paladin, but while it did a number on surrounding Pokemon, it left him unscathed. Still, the Stone Edge was no laughing matter. Paladin found himself swatting away the various stones which stung like a thousand Beedril stings every time one hit. Sovereign then lunged with a Crunch. Paladin extended his arm just on time, causing the Tyranitar's powerful jaw to clench tightly on Paladin's arm. "Aargh!" Paladin shouted, instinctively countering with another Hammer Arm straight at Sovereign's jaw. The best backed away from the hit a step, allowing Paladin to back off. Not a moment later, the earth itself began shaking. Paladin's fury would be unleashed through his Earthquake attack. The ground shook as Pokemon and buildings all around him starting falling to the ground, collapsing.

"STOP!" Sovereign was stunned by the voice. It echoed through his soul with the ferocity of an unchecked Tauros. Everything subsided at the call of a lone Blaziiken, standing over the beat up body of the Furret Sovereign had held hostage before. She looked beat up herself, and was barely standing. Sovereign stared at her, but his mind would not tell him who she was.

Who are you?
Who are you?
Who are you?
Who are you? Who are you?
Who are you?

"Sovereign," the Blaziken said weakly, "you have to remember."

"Who are you!?" Sovereign screamed as he gripped his head tightly. The earth shook all around, it was just like before, just like all the other times...

Only it wasn't.

Sovereign felt it as the darkness he felt earlier gripped his heart. The shaking became more violent as the sky, in all directions, across the whole city, turned pitch black. Dark energy whipped about the area like lightning, striking buildings and destroying structures that still had integrity.

'This isn't right," Vera whispered to herself. But there was no time to contemplate, they had a mission. DO IT NOW!

Vigil smiled as he replied to Accatosh's statement. "Heh...I was just doing what had to be done. But I'll take your advice next time around."

Accatosh smiled in return. Then an explosion happened Vigil, went running in the direction of the explosion, Accatosh followed Vigil. as they apporoched there were a couple of Aincients Vigil had ran past, bashing each one, then Alpha Alliance warriors engadged them, so there was no need for Accatosh to get into the mix of them.

when they got to where the explosion happened, the area was completely charred. nothing seemed alive. Vigil then saw movement and hurried to pull rubble out of the way.

"Guardia!" Vigil called out, with only minimal reply in terms of movement. He reached the rubble, frantically pulling off pieces of broken buildings and wood. There Guardia lay, injuried fairly seriously, but still alive. She had a few burns here and there, her signs of survival against the Sentinel. "Are you alright? What happened?" Vigil asked her, as he pulled her up and helped her onto her feet. Guardia shook a bit at first, having trouble keeping her balance, but managed to eventually remain standing. She recalled what had previously happened.

"The Inferno...he was here, and Prince of Light..." She trailed off in her voice, recalled how the Zoroark Gold Tribe member fell trying to get them a shot at the Inferno. "Then...Hoodhide..." Her voice trailed off once more, this time recalling the last words of Hoodhide.

"You're too valuable. Continue the fight. Honor me."

"All because of this..." Vigil said to himself aloud, looking down at the Gold crystal around his neck. "No...it goes beyond that. Where did we go wrong...?"

Accatosh stepped forward, thinking, "we went wrong by being prideful and accepting those who were warriors in their respects, but were not ready to be accepted as members of the tribe, they didn't have our code of ethics..." Accatosh stopped abruptly in his statement, as he heard the sounds of battle calling, he lifted his head to listen.

Things just escalated a little, in the sense that the trio had even less time now. They couldn't stay in the Sandstorm forever. "Be the anchor?" Hanso asked Brynn, shielding his eyes with one arm while trying to see through the whipping sand.

"I'm almost tempted to make you do it so you can brush up on your skills."

"For something as serious as this, we need the one who's better at it." Looking at the building Brynn sat against, Hanso wondered if this was the safest place. "No place real safe at the moment in any case." Then the ground began shaking, and Hanso quickly picked Brynn up and teleported a short distance away. The wall shuddered and crumbled, crushing the area where the two Pokemon had been moments before. Hanso had to set his sister back down, though he wondered if the battle of titans would crush them anyway.

"STOP!" Everything subsided at the call of a lone Blaziiken, standing over the beat up body of the Furret Sovereign had held hostage before. She looked beat up herself, and was barely standing.

"Sovereign," the Blaziken said weakly, "you have to remember."

"Who are you!?" Sovereign screamed as he gripped his head tightly.

The shaking became more violent as the sky, in all directions, across the whole city, turned pitch black. The dark energy whipped about the area, striking buildings and destroying structures that still had integrity.

DO IT NOW!

Agreed on what they would do, Hanso and Brynn struck at Sovereign's mind, including Vera in their attack on the Tyranitar. Hopefully, they could stop him before it all passed the point of no return.

Penance frowned as he heard the explosion go off. Vigil of course raced off to the sound, no doubt because that was where the other goldies were supposed to be at. Penance however stood where he was and closed his eyes. He placed his hands to his temples and reached out to his network for some information. Yes, the explosion had killed some of the Affiliates, or at least that was suspected to be the cause when some of the Affiliates just disappeared out of the network. He began to give orders left and right and once he finished he cut off the communications for a moment to take a breather and he rubbed his forehead, taking in deep breaths to help him calm down.

Leon slowly walked over, "Hey Penance, anything you need me to do?"

The Golduck slowly nodded, "Well yes. Gather up a team and go over the various areas. The Ancients are dwindled enough so that they won't be a problem. Go and find the Affiliates' bodies and do a tally and record information. I want all of it when this assault ends, got it?"

The Weavile smirked and winked, "Got it boss, I'll get it to ya early!" With that the Weavile rushed on off and Penance still stood there. He slowly reestablished connection with the network and headed out to the place where Vigil went and glanced about the area. There was fire, smoke, and charred buildings. Vigil was attending to Guardia and the Golduck put his hands on his hips.

"Hm... this is a bad scene. Well, another goldy dead I imagine? Well, his death was second to capturing Scar Vigil. At least his death served a purpose this time instead of just dying because he was stupid right?"

Zane gazed upon Blitzkrieg as he commented on Zane's thinking. "We went wrong by being prideful and accepting those who were warriors in their respects, but were not ready to be accepted as members of the tribe, they didn't have our code of ethics..."

He continued to looked upon him as he thought on this. Kivir Sveenis and his teacher, Delnir "Divine Wind" Blake, had once said something similarly. Zane remembered on that day that he dismissed Kivir's protests, that the Gold Tribe were alright as they were. That they were still a family. But something truly was wrong. The more he started to realize it, the more he was coming to grips with just how much it wasn't what it appeared to be. As they had all found out, the Gold Tribe was formed as a way to protect the lands from the 'Dark Being' in the Silver Crystal long ago. Their ideals and culture that formed could all be seen as rouses to hide its true purpose. But eventually, those ideals were apart of their actually culture. They truly had become brothers and sisters again, only to now veer off. At least, that is what Zane thought. He wasn't sure how it happened. He wasn't entirely sure when, but the Gold Tribe seemed to be veering off the path that was intended for them. Divine Wind saw it. Perhaps Rey did too, which is why he tried to do something about it.

Zane looked away from Blitzkrieg, determination filling his eyes again. He knew, even only as an interim leader, he had to do something about it. He had to change the Gold Tribe. But suddenly, a voice permeated his skull. He grabbed his head, feeling a similar sensation that happened whenever he would have gotten those visions. It seemed as the time passed, these visions seemed to only be getting stronger, as to now he saw them even while he was awake. Sometimes, he appeared to also be hearing voices, as in this occasion.

"But you know that is impossible. You said it yourself. You made the realization all the way back in Eternity City. There's too few now to make a difference, to make a change. What was it you thought then? Do you remember?"

The war would bring the end of the Gold Tribe.

Zane let go of his head, as the sensation passed and the stinging pain subsided. He looked back at the others, just as he caught Penance speaking of Hoodhide's last actions. He turned swiftly to the Golduck, walking up to him as he glared into his eyes. He grabbed the Golduck by the shoulders, as if about to do something, but thought against it. Instead, he just gripped him by the shoulder, and thought. Many things passed through his mind, one in particularly being how much Penance himself had changed. Finally, Zane let go, and backed away, still glaring at him.

"Purpose..." Zane said out loud, thought barely audible over the sounds of battle. He spoke louder now. "I won't have you speak ill of the dead, particularly my brother. He died because I was helping you, Penance. Remember that. If I was here...I might have been able to help. Maybe he wouldn't have died...maybe, he didn't have to die..." His voice trailed off, but the sounds of nearby battling snapped him back into reality. There was still a war to fight, even if a pair of Sentinels were out of the picture. As he looked over, he saw as Belas and Hazone pushed forward through a bulk of the Ancients which protected the Stoneguard, the Ancients' base of operations. Taking that spot would be crucial in winning the battle.

With that in mind, Zane took off in that direction, yelling back to Penance as he did. "Remember, once you were one of us too. Whatever insanity you call yourself now, you took the Oath of the Gold Tribe. An oath like that can't just easily be broken with a new title and some new friends."

He never got a chance to hear a respond from Penance, however, as a peculiar thing had begun to happen. He noticed Sandstorms spread out across one area of the city, enveloping everything in the area. However, the oddity was not Sandstorm itself, as much as it was the event which followed it. First it was shaking, like an earthquake on a more massive scope. This was followed by the sky visibly darkening, and energy from some unknown source begin to strike at anything in its path, most notably any buildings which still managed to stand. It was an energy source Zane didn't understand, neither the source nor the reason.

"What the..." Zane inquired, looking all across at the turmoil that was Cape City. All around, everything seemed to be becoming more chaotic, only a further reason for them to have to end this battle soon. Whatever was happening to cause this, he hoped those who were there were handling it. If they don't, the fate of Cape City and the brave warriors who fought to liberate it might face a grim ending.

Vigil, had a sort of headache then as it passed he went over to yell at Penance for his speaking. this was true Accatosh had simply ignored his little talk to Vigil, Accatosh however while Vigil was yelling walked over to Vigil's side and looked down at the Golduck, Accatosh didn't say or do anything else, anything else would only cause more problems right now... problems the Gold Tribe didn't need right now.

after Vigil's yelling had ended, a sandstorm kicked in, then the sky darkened, and dark energy was visible to the eye striking and destroying everything in their path.

Accatosh focused himself, and launched his tendrils of Palkian energy at the energy that was destroying the city in an attempt to find out who or what was destroying the city, such power was unknown to him and he readied himself for anything... this might be a battle of energies... in his mind he prayed for support and held in this fight, as his tendrils of Palkian energy closed in on the dark energy his tendrils of energy became visible as well, glowing and spreading a pink light throughout the area.

Vera could feel the psychics drag her mind in with them, as they assaulted Sovereign. At first it was euphoric, a new feeling like she had never felt. But as soon as they hit Sovereign, the resistance was palpable. It was like she could be torn apart at any time, the turbulence indescribable. It seemed to drag on for an eternity, as if they would never get through.

Then, silence... Everything was pitch black, in all directions. As she looked around, she found that neither of her companions were there. "What now..."

You think this mortal is worth saving? Vera was surprised! The deep voice seemed to be coming from nowhere. "Who are you!? Show yourself!"

Those without a form cannot show themselves to the eyes of mortals. You have come here for the child which seeks my power, but do you really think you can pull him out of the darkness?

"If I can't see you, then what is your name?" There was silence in the wake of this question. I am the will of the Silver. I have given your "Sentinels" great power. Sovereign is now a part of me. There is nothing you can do to stop it. The bond will soon be complete, and there will be no turning back...

Some of the darkness began to clear, making way for a dull light, illuminating a lone Larvitar. I wonder where your friends have gone. I'm afraid that they are now facing demons far more dangerous than me. Do you really think they can free Sovereign from his shackles of insanity? Sovereign will be mine, and you will all be lost to the darkness, forever...

Paladin gazed at the scene unfolding before him. "What...the hell?" He muttered as he stepped back from Sovereign as another Pokemon, a Blaziken, appeared and began speaking to the monster. Paladin was about to tell her to get back, but Sovereign began screaming "Who are you!? So Paladin couldn't even hear himself think. As if that wasn't enough, the deranged Tyranitar had conjured up another Earthquake attack. The sky above the three Pokemon became dark, as tendrils of vile energy began whipping around, decimating any nearby building that still stood. The Gallade, Hanso, and a Gardevoir also appeared near to the Blaziken. It seemed they were doing something to him, possibly on a metaphysical level, for he appeared to be losing control over himself. Paladin wondered, for a moment, if this was still his fight. He had no idea what was going on with this monster, but he did know one thing.

He was getting his revenge.

Taking up a battle stance, Paladin turned his deformed eyes to the sky. The dark tendrils made an attempt to knock the giant off his feet, but Paladin sidestepped the first whiplash, which left a mark on the ground where he had been standing. Another tendril tried to strike him, but Paladin rolled away from its deadly reach just on time. Finally, with no more dark energy reaching out to kill him, he lunged at Sovereign.

Paladin was done with this. He would avenge his master if it was the last thing he ever did.

Penance didn't smirk, nor did he flinch when the Bisharp reached out to grab him. Penance raised his gaze to meet Zane's and just quietly stared at the enraged Bisharp. For a moment, it seemed he would strike at the Golduck, but Penance saw him restrain himself. Yes... that would be just like Zane. So calm and restrained. The Golduck wondered just how much he would have to push to see the rage all goldies buried deep underneath, under their cool exterior. As the Bisharp walked away Penance just looked at him. He closed his eyes slowly, "But remember the words in that oath Zane..." He said softly to himself.

The Golduck let out a tense sigh and felt the voices in his network shouting out various things. Though one thing did perk up his attention. A Sableye and Jolteon... interesting. He crossed his arms, thinking about it. He knew what to do for those two, it would be quite simple actually. A bit of leading here and there.

Send some Affiliates there, keep them out of range. A mindless animal always follows bait...

Yes, animals these Sentinels were. And animals, once caught, could be easily tamed...

Zane crashed right into a pair of Kabutos who stood between him and a good portion of the Alpha Alliance army, his Iron Head breaking bones upon impact. He almost overan the two on the way to another group of Ancients, a few Omastars, a Bastiodon and a Rampardos. Zane prepared himself, and stuck towards them with a set of Iron Slashes and Aerial Aces. He did so with renewed vigor, a way of perhaps trying to mask the thoughts of his dead comrades. Hoodhide. Calamity. Dark Lightning. Each This group was headed to the Stoneguard, the capital building of Cape City, the Silver Tribe's supposed center of authority, and also apparently their most defended area of the city. Zane fought alongside some of his brothers and sisters, as well as soldiers of the Alliance as they pushed through the waves of Ancients. Yet it seemed for every Ancient they would slay, two more took their place. Indeed, it appeared in Cape City, they faced the largest of the armies since they had begun the reclaiming campaign a few months ago. Yet strangely, none of these forces came close to the size of the original wave that began the conquering years ago. Zane remembered: a force of vast proportions, an army that seemed to never end. It was in those moments long ago that he believed hope had long been taken from them.

As he took down the Bastiodon, his charge matching Zane's punches, only to find itself overmatched. Zane stepped over its body and continued forward. In the distance, Zane saw as a group of Alpha Alliance soldiers, already at the gates of the Stoneguard. As General Belas directed, a team of Lairon, Stantler, and Tauros gathered at the front gates to act as a battering ram. Together, they began tackling forward at the gates, determined to break them open. Yet all around, Ancients still on the outside of the gates were trying to stop them. Large Pokemon, like Snorlaxes, Rhyperiors, and Golems tried to hold them off, taking most of the damage and acting as the shield to the battering Pokemon. Zane saw this opportunity to assist in the defense to help bring the gates down. He headed over, running through the crowd.

Yet as he approach, a sudden shot of pain to his head made him come to an abrupt halt and cause him to clutch his head. He closed his eyes, seeing an image in his head, and when he opened them, the image continued to be seen, as if it was embedded into them. He couldn't make out the image, but saw what looked like a Pokemon of some sort. It looked at Zane, and spoke from what appeared to be deep within his skull.

“First, they came in waves, and conquered our cities. Our entire country was thrown into anarchy. Then, you set out to bring justice and stability once more, but in the process, more destruction had to created. Now, you stand on the brink of victory, but you've passed through so much devastation along the way. There is always consequences to destruction.”

As abruptly as the image appeared in his mind, it left in the same fashion. He was left there, panting on the ground, trying to make sense of things. A large paw was placed from his shoulder, causing Zane to look up and see the image of his brother Sword and Shield.

Penance frowned as more reports came in. Death here, other stuff here, complications there. It didn't help that the Alpha Alliance army really wasn't that organized. They could be, but with just two generals in control it was more along 'troops generally search in this area in no particular pattern'. It was sure to cause confusion among the troops and then there was the fact that the ambushes that had already been set up by the Affiliates quickly had to be reworked or traps quickly disabled so that they wouldn't blow up at the wrong time. It was why he made sure to know where everyone was at every single second. Not knowing the exact details of plans would cause chaos, and there was no need to have chaos now.

They were so close, already another two Sentinels were down, with the possibility of capturing another or better yet killing another. So far two were separated from their allies, still weary and in fact he could kill them now while they still go their bearings... on the other hand there was some sort of Tyranitar rampaging around that was black apparently. He had to ask again for confirmation on that information and his mind began to work once more. Yes... they could do this.

Send in two of the psychics. Yes I know they are weary. Send them to that Sableye and Jolteon. No, the others have the Tyranitar under control, I trust Brynn. Now send them out. Yes, their mission will be to keep those two occupied. Keep them away from the goldies until they are done with the Tyranitar.Yeah... I know, just do it.

Penance closed his eyes yet again and thought. The present didn't only matter now, but also the future, and he was sure about one thing. He was not going to let some desperate generals kill off his Affiliates!

----------

The Kirlia and Grumpig appeared out of thin air behind a building and the Kirlie peeked around to see the Sableye and Jolteon. "We keep them occupied. Let's do this." The Kirlia stated as he readied a Psychic attack and threw it right at the Jolteon. The Grumpig dashed out and used his psychic to grab rubble and throw it toward the Sableye.

"Hey Sentinels, show us what you got!" The Grumpig shouted out as she threw more rocks at them.

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